Chapter 251

The guesthouse at the street corner is a newly renovated luxury guesthouse. Carrying Han Duo, I went up to the front desk and said to the clerk: "Clerk, give me a single room!"

The clerk is a woman in her thirties. He lowered his head to flip the ledger, then raised his head and said to me: "Sorry, handsome guy, we only have room 301 left for single rooms. How about I change you to a double room?"

I found that a bit confusing. What's wrong with room 301? Could it be that it's haunted and unsuitable for guests?

"No, sir..." the clerk leaned in and lowered her voice: "Room 301 is very close to the stairs!"

"What's the problem with being close to the stairs?" I exclaimed.

"That's how it is!" The clerk looked around mysteriously, then glanced at Han Duo, and finally said in a warning tone: "Recently the anti-vice crackdown has been a bit strict, and the soundproofing in room 301 is poor; if your voice gets too loud..."

"Oh, then I'll change... wow, what the hell, the anti-vice thing has nothing to do with me, I just want room 301." I almost went along with the clerk's wording, but I reacted in time. I threw down the money, grabbed the key, and carrying Han Duo ran straight up to the third floor.

"Damn... am I really that kind of person? Even if I were, my tastes wouldn't be that heavy." After throwing Han Duo onto the bed, I was still indignant. How could the clerk look at me like that? Besides, Han Duo's feistiness is three points greater than Yao Yirong's; how dare I provoke her?

"But... although this girl is a bit feisty, her figure is actually quite nice!" Han Duo on the bed wore a red outfit, her figure was curvaceous; among the fortunetelling crones I've seen, she could definitely be called a red flower.

I wiped Han Duo's face with a towel and checked her pulse again. Just as I had previously guessed, Han Duo was injured by QingSongShu's heavenly eye divine ability while in Yichang, her soul suffered severe trauma, and then she forcibly used magic power, causing her mental strength to collapse.

Mental collapse... doing nothing, sleeping for several days straight can help; of course, treating it with Chinese medicine is best. But I don't know how to handle such a complicated thing, so I'll just wait for Han Duo to wake up before saying anything.

I was boredly reading a book on the table, then sat on the bed to watch TV. The TV was playing a movie of my idol, Third Brother (Miao Qiaowei); watching it, I gradually got drawn in and forgot to look at Han Duo on the bed.

Suddenly… nobody saw it coming—an earsplitting "ah" scream rang through the room, then I lost my footing, someone kicked me in the lower back, and I crashed to the ground like a dog eating shit.

I turned my head… it was Han Duo's doing. Her leg was still raised in mid‑air, and the funny part was she was lowering her head to check her own clothes.

"You… what did you do to me, and where is this?" Han Duo demanded, her face pale and breathless.

I rolled my eyes and said: "Save it—I have no interest in hermaphrodites. This is a hotel; you just fainted on the floor. I'm the one who carried you up here."

After hearing my explanation, Han Duo actually lowered her head, embarrassed. It's rare to see, but this girl actually feels shame.

"Right." I slowly walked over and stretched out a hand toward Han Duo: "Give it to me." My gesture meant I wanted Han Duo to hand over the other IOU; when she forced me to write the IOU earlier, she kept a copy for herself. Now that I've saved her life, I figure this lifesaving debt ought to cover one IOU.

"The thing isn't here with me; I'll take you to get it." Han Duo threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Suddenly, Han Duo froze, then let out another "ah" scream, and in a panic she began rummaging through the room for something.

I was wondering what Han Duo was looking for, but she flusteredly asked me: "Do you have a watch? What time is it now?"

I glanced at my watch and said: "It's three o'clock in the afternoon. Do you have an emergency?"

Upon hearing that, Han Duo's face turned ashen, she cried "Oh no," grabbed the bag on the bed, and left.

I grabbed her arm and said: "Where are you going? Don't think about running off—first…" Before I could finish, Han Duo shoved my hand away and said: "You wait here; I'll go get it and bring it back to you."

"No way—I'm coming with you; who knows if you'll come back after you leave?"

Having said that, I didn't care whether she wanted it or not, and followed her out of the hotel.

What kind of international joke is this? Not getting the IOU back, carrying the feeling of debt all my life—just thinking about it is unbearable.

After leaving the hotel with Han Duo, she hailed a taxi, got in, and immediately gave the driver a hospital's name, telling him to speed there.

"Is your mom sick or is your dad hospitalized?" I asked curiously while sitting in the taxi. Unexpectedly, my words struck her like a thorn, making her face flush red as she snapped: "None of your business, why is your mouth so foul? Anyway, I'll definitely give you that thing."

What a crazy woman—when she goes crazy, there's no time limit! I wiped the spit off my face, turned my head away in disbelief; she ignored me, and I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to her.

The taxi drove all the way to the hospital Han Duo had named; she headed straight for the fifth‑floor inpatient department and rushed into a patient room.

"Doctor, where's Xiao Binbin… the child on this bed?" Han Duo grabbed a nurse and questioned her frantically.

"This child was sent for chemotherapy this morning and should now be in the chemo room." The nurse was shaken a few times, and only after a long while did she regain her composure.

"Chemo room…" Han Duo finally relaxed, but not long after she asked the nurse in surprise: "Nurse, I… I remember the medical fees from last time weren't paid to the hospital—did my mother bring the money to pay?"

Just then, a noisy chorus of children's laughter came from outside the door. Hearing it, Han Duo hurriedly turned and rushed out of the ward.

"Xiao Binbin, where did you go? You scared the hell out of Sister Li, you know?" Han Duo tightly hugged the chubby child in the wheelchair, and within a minute her eyes turned red.

Beside the wheelchair were two older girls, but their clothes were ragged, the garments they wore had been washed until they were white, and one girl's left and right shoes didn't match, giving the impression they'd been pieced together from two different pairs.

After Han Duo let go of the chubby child in the wheelchair, I was immediately shocked. This kid wasn't fat at all—he was completely edema‑swollen, and his skin was crisscrossed with red lines; even the hair on his head had fallen out.

Seeing this, the words "blood cancer" instantly popped into my mind. Indeed, only when blood cancer reaches the middle stage do the internal blood vessels show on the surface; at this point the patient's meridians are extremely fragile, so even a tiny cut could cause unstoppable bleeding.

"Doctor Yang, thank you so much!" I was still dazed when Han Duo firmly gripped the bald man in the white coat standing nearby and said gratefully: "Thank you for taking Xiao Binbin to chemotherapy."

The bald man shook his head with a wry smile: "Miss Han, I've already done my best this time; if the medical fees aren't paid again, the hospital really won't allow Xiao Binbin to stay, and I'm afraid even the radiation therapy…"

Before the bald man could finish speaking, Han Duo opened the pouch at her waist, took out the ten thousand yuan she had gotten from Shaolong, and pleaded with the doctor: "Doctor Yang, I've brought the money; I'll pay part of it now—please talk to the director and grant me a few more days, and I'll surely scrape together the rest."

The bald man shook his head, his sigh mixed with helplessness; his expression wavered for a moment, then he told Han Duo: "Come with me to pay the money first; tonight, when the director arrives, I'll plead with him on your behalf."

"Thank you, Doctor Yang, you're really a good person! Thank you," Han Duo said gratefully, then instructed the two nearby children to watch over Xiao Binbin, who has leukemia, before following the doctor out of the ward.

At that moment I stood frozen in the ward, unable to snap out of it for a long while. What kind of situation is this? What are these kids up to? And Han Duo—what's her relationship with Xiao Binbin?

"Brother, are you Sister Li's friend?" the child with mismatched canvas shoes on his feet walked over to me and obediently handed me a cup of water.

After taking the water, I crouched down, looked at her, and asked curiously: "Little one, is the Sister Li you mentioned the girl in the red shirt just now? And… are you her siblings?"

The little girl's cheeks flushed red as she nodded and sweetly said: "Yes, Sister Li is everyone's older sister; she's been wonderful to us…"

The girl's words left me puzzled—how could Han Duo, who's so old, have such young siblings? Looking at their ages, the oldest is definitely no more than ten.

Just then I saw another little girl grabbing a filthy steamed bun and shoving it into her mouth. I rushed over and seized her hand.

"Hey, this is dirty—can't eat it." I grabbed the girl's hand, preventing her from stuffing the bun into her mouth. Look at this bun—it's turned yellow and smells rancid.

"Why not? It's delicious and fragrant," the little girl muttered, staring at me for a while before finally uttering an "oh" as if she'd suddenly understood.

She felt a bit shy, looking at the bun in her hand with reluctance, but after swallowing her saliva she slowly handed the bun over to me.

"Big brother, are you hungry? If you are, Lele will give you this to eat." Even though she clearly hated to part with half the bun, she thought I was hungry and handed it over to me.

What a thoughtful little girl, considering others at such a young age!

Looking at her dirty little face, those pure, flawless eyes, and the yellowed, moldy bread in her hand, my nose suddenly felt sour… unbearably sour.